A South Sudanese boy drowned after becoming caught in a rip at Claytons Beach in Mindarie. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: News Limited
SUBSIDISED swimming lessons should be promoted more to new migrants, Western Australia's surf life savers say, in the wake of the drowning of a 13-year-old South Sudanese boy off a Perth beach.
The body of Jenon Biwot was recovered from Mindarie waters just before midday on Monday after he disappeared into the surf on Sunday afternoon while struggling with a rip at the unpatrolled Claytons Beach.
The teenager, who was reportedly born in a refugee camp in Uganda, was not a strong swimmer.
Surf Life Saving WA's Chris Peck called on the state government to urge immigrants - particularly from land-locked countries - to learn swimming.
A 47-year-old British tourist died when he got caught in a rip in Mindarie waters in January.
